Jokowi Reminds People Not To Use Social Assistance Money To Buy Cigarettes

President Jokowi (Setpres)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) reminded people not to buy cigarettes using social assistance money (bansos). Social assistance will begin to be distributed in January 2021.

This was conveyed by the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Muhadjir Effendy after holding a limited meeting on social assistance at the State Palace, Tuesday, December 29.

"Mr President has warned that (social assistance money, red) is not used to buy cigarettes. So once again, this aid should not be used at all to buy cigarettes according to the direction of the President," Muhadjir said in a press conference broadcast. on the Presidential Secretariat YouTube account.

A similar instruction was also conveyed by the Minister of Social Affairs Tri Rismaharini and in the future, to prevent misuse of social assistance money to buy cigarettes, the government will prepare a tool to find out the spending of the beneficiary community.

This is important because the assistance provided by the government is to restore the economy and maintain public health. So, this assistance should be used for related matters, not buying cigarettes.

"As stated by the Coordinating Minister and also conveyed by the President, there is no more (social assistance money, red) for the purchase of cigarettes and we will monitor it, we will monitor it," said Risma.

"God willing, in February we will prepare tools or tools for us to know what expenditures will be used. With the money is spent on anything," added the former Surabaya Mayor.

If in the future there are beneficiaries who are caught using social assistance money to buy cigarettes, the government will not hesitate to evaluate the assistance.

"If that happens, we will conduct an evaluation for the beneficiaries. Because once again, don't let the recipients of this aid be for health, but then there will be problems because it is used for cigarettes," he said.

There is also social assistance that will be distributed in January 2021, consisting of cash assistance, direct cash assistance, the family hope program, to basic foodstuffs. The entire social assistance will be distributed by PT Pos Indonesia and is expected to be completed within a week throughout Indonesia.

"We hope that one week it can be completed throughout Indonesia, but there is something special in Papua which may have a very different mechanism," he concluded.